I walked into my bedroom, forming a plan to get to D0987C before the purification. Every plan had a flaw, most of the easily exploited. I gritted my teeth. Why was I so awful at making plans?

I sat down on the bed. "Are you in need of something?" a beautiful but monotonous voice said from behind me. I nearly jumped three feet in the air, surprised that I hadn't noticed her. D0098R smiled, a dead smile, the smile of a corpse at a funeral, at the look on my face. I put on my poker face, not wanting her to suspect anything. Her face returned to her usual emotionless expression.

Her ice chips for eyes studied my carefully as though she had suspected something. I held her gaze, not wanting to break away and make it look like I was guilty or something similar. She looked away eventually and repeated,"Are you in need of something?" I shook my head slowly, wondering if she'd kick me out. She smiled her dead smile again, and said,"Why have you come here then?"

I pondered my answer for a while, and she stood there with infinite patience, her eyes never leaving me. "Answers," I said casually. Her eyes didn't change. They never did, but I expected an outburst or a least a little bit of anger, but no, nothing. These Genetically Engineered Humans were really creeping me out.

"What sort of answers?" she asked, her voice still dead,"And can I be of assistance?" I wanted to wrap my hands around her cold neck, and strangle her every time she said that. It was really agitating me. But I held back my anger, biting the inside of my cheek hard, so that I would focus on the pain, instead of the anger. "You might be a bit of a help," I said, shrugging, trying to act as normal as I could.

"I shall try and be of as much assistance as possible," D0098R said,"That is my purpose." I delayed the question as long as possible and to keep a cool head, but it was difficult with her eyes like fragments of sharpened glass boring into mine. I finally spoke after I couldn't hold her gaze off anymore. "What do you know about the purification," I asked, trying to keep the terror and nervousness out of my voice. This wasn't like asking Sir. She was an inhuman...thing, made not born, without emotion or fear and she scared me more than Sir did. She could as easily decide to kill me as she could let me live. She was only a vicious slave, her purpose to keep me in line.

She didn't didn't attack, she didn't move, she just said one word. "Classified." I'd heard it properly but that didn't stop me from opening my mouth and asking,"What?" "That is classified information," she said, monotonously,"Thirteen is not allowed to access it." I bit my lip and tried again. "Who issued this order?" I asked, hoping there was a loophole in the programming. But I doubted it.

"The highest authority," she said. "Who is the highest authority?" I asked, feeling as though I'd gotten an edge. "Classified," she repeated,"That is classified information." My heart sunk to my feet. I tried again at a different angle. "When was D0987C last purification?" I asked, hoping that I could get an edge by asking how he'd got the purification afterwards. "Classified," she said,"That information is classified."

I gritted my teeth. I was getting nowhere. "When was your last purification?" I asked, hoping that I'd finally get an answer other than classified. "Classified," she said again. I bit my lip and nearly tore the skin off of it in frustration. By now I wanted to rip her head off. I took a deep breath though and and tried again. I knew it was hopeless and I was a fool to keep trying. But my curiosity was a powerful motivator, far more empowering than my self-preservation instinct or my logical side, which by now was probably non-existent.

There had to be a loophole, a glitch in the system. Something I could use to my advantage. But every time I tried, every question I asked, every time I failed, my hope shrunk and my willingness faded. I gave up. I couldn't think of anything else. I would have to try again some other time.

"You haven't been given permission to leave," D0098R said,"You must say here until you have been given permission to leave. I glanced at her. What was she going to do? When she didn't do anything, I took another step forward, cautiously and warily, watching her the whole time.

I continued like that, one step forward, a glance behind, another step forward, another glance back. Eventually I reached the door and was about to open it when she moved quickly, jumping towards me. I stood in shock, my feet stuck the floor, my body frozen in fear. I didn't even get the chance to think before her cold hands wrapped around my neck.

So sorry. I kinda let the book go but since it got 500 reads I decided I had to continue. :D